Two alcohol-related cases were resolved in Estevan Provincial Court on Monday.
In each case, the alcohol levels were similar, and the Crown asked for $2,000 fines and 12-month driving prohibitions, but that is not what was handed down in both cases.
First up, Bradley Readman, 42, of Lampman, represented himself. At 8:52 a.m. on July 10 he was charged with impaired driving and having a blood alcohol level over .08. Since the law does not allow conviction of both, he pleaded guilty to the .08 charge.
Crown prosecutor Mitch Crumley said police responded to a phone call and found him on the Lampman highway, where he swerved into the ditch three times. Readman turned southbound on Highway 47, at which point police closed in on him.
He turned off onto a grid and stopped. Crumley said “he did some strange things,” like rolling his windows up and down.
Readman told police he hadn’t had anything to drink that day, but he had the night before. He also claimed to be looking at his cellphone as an explanation for his driving. However, his blood alcohol level came in at .190 and .200, putting him over twice the legal limit of .08.
Crumley noted that the recently updated drunk driving laws consider such a high alcohol level an aggravating factor, and thus the mandatory minimum sentence is $2,000 and a 12-month driving prohibition. (Lower blood alcohol levels net a $1,000 mandatory minimum).
Readman told Judge Michelle Brass, “I just made a terrible mistake.”
She asked, “Are you employed?”
“I was,” he responded, explaining he needed a driver’s licence for his work. While he had enough money saved that he could pay the fine, he said, “I’m waiting on sentencing before I make my next move.”
Crumley said Readman had a “very, very dated record,” and it was unrelated.
The prosecutor suggested the judge make a recommendation Readman be allowed to apply for an ignition interlock, and she agreed. She handed down a $2,000 fine and a 12-month driving prohibition.
The second instance also involved the Lampman area, but this time it was within the town limits.
Clare R. Wanner, 20, of Estevan attended a street dance in Lampman on June 9. The events Crumley described took place between 2:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. June 10.
He said police were on patrol at the street dance. She was observed with open alcohol and two companions initially. Later, outside the bar, a companion was observed with open alcohol.
Crumley said she was told not to drive, and in return she gave the police the finger and then publicly urinated on a lawn. Police waited around the corner, and when she got in her vehicle and started it up, she was arrested. She blew .190 and .190 for her blood alcohol level.
The next day she wrote a note to the police apologizing for her behaviour.
Crumley said her level of intoxication was significant, and again asked for a $2,000 fine and a one-year driving prohibition.
The difference between the two cases was that she pleaded guilty to the impaired charge as opposed to the .08. There was some talk between the lawyers and the judge as to whether the mandatory minimum $2,000 fine applied in this case.
Her lawyer, James Trobert, said Wanner was going into the third year of a four-year university program in Ohio and would be leaving in the next week to return to school. Her summer employment is wrapping up this week.
He pointed out that when Wanner went to the street dance, she hadn’t had anything to eat beforehand. She arrived at around 9 or 10 p.m., and her intention was not to drive afterward. He noted she had “quite a bit” of alcohol.
She decided to sit in her vehicle and started it to warm up, he explained. That was enough for police to arrest her for having care and control of the vehicle.
He added that Wanner was co-operative, and that her note said, “I’m ashamed and embarrassed of my behaviour towards you.”
Wanner had no prior record, and did not wish to address the court. Given that she is a student, Trobert asked for six to nine months for her to pay her fine.
Brass asked if the $2,000 mandatory minimum applied, and decided it didn’t. The judge acknowledged the letter to police, as well as the fact she hadn’t driven anywhere.
Brass imposed a $1,500 fine and a 12-month driving prohibition, and recommended Wanner for the ignition interlock program.
